Methods and apparatuses for purchasing telephone calling card minutes using an electronic commerce kiosk and for conducting other forms of electronic commerce

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses for purchasing telephone calling card minutes and for conducting other forms of electronic commerce. In one embodiment, a method for conducting electronic commerce includes providing a kiosk in a publicly accessible location, and displaying one or more transaction options to a user at the kiosk. The method may further include receiving a transaction selection from the user corresponding to one or more of the displayed transaction options, determining an amount due from the user in response to the transaction selection, and receiving funds from the user. In response to receiving the funds, the kiosk may dispense a redeemable voucher to the user, including a redeemable voucher for any amount paid in excess of the amount due.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/414,826 filed Apr. 15, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,108 which isrelated to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/372,844, entitled “METHOD FOR ACCESSING AND PROCESSING MULTIPLETRANSACTIONS FROM A TERMINAL,” filed on Apr. 16, 2002, which are bothincorporated herein in their entireties by reference.

This patent application also incorporates in its entirety by referencePCT Application PCT/US03/04600, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOREXCHANGING AND/OR TRANSFERRING VARIOUS FORMS OF VALUE,” filed on Feb.14, 2003.

BACKGROUND

Electronic commerce is typically conducted through the use of personalcomputers. Forms of electronic commerce (“e-commerce”) include buyingand selling products, paying bills, viewing account summaries andtransactions, and online investing. E-commerce may also be conductedusing other devices. Examples of such other devices include personaldigital assistants, web-enabled cellular telephones, and interactivetelevision receivers.

Participation in e-commerce often requires payment by credit card. Somepeople do not have a credit card because of poor credit, lack of credithistory, personal choice, or other reasons. In fact, there are manyindividuals who do not even have a bank account. Such individuals may beunable to participate in e-commerce, despite their desire to do so. Asanother example, participating in e-commerce often requires aninvestment in a personal computer, a personal digital assistant withInternet access, a web-enabled cellular telephone, an interactivetelevision receiver (where available), or other device with Internetconnectivity. For some people, such investments are financially out ofreach.

As e-commerce transactions become more widespread, people unable toparticipate in e-commerce may be disadvantaged. While some people haveaccess to Internet terminals at work, in public libraries, in Internetcafes, or elsewhere, these terminals may not be available forparticipating in e-commerce because of policies restricting such use.Some people may also be uncomfortable conducting some transactions,though legal, at work or in a library because of concerns that theiremployer or others may be tracking their use and transactions. As anexample, employers may track which web sites employees visit, or mayblock access to some web sites altogether. There may also be securityconcerns when using credit card numbers at a library terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a network topology view showing network connectionsin accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partially schematic front isometric view of ane-commerce kiosk configured in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a Voucher routine in accordancewith an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as the kiosk illustratedin FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a Round-Up routine in accordancewith an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as the kiosk illustratedin FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a Voucher-After-Cancel routine inaccordance with an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as the kioskillustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a Receive-Payment routine inaccordance with an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as the kioskillustrated in FIG. 2.

In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify identical orsubstantially similar elements or acts. To easily identify thediscussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digitor digits in a reference number refer to the Figure number in which thatelement is first introduced and discussed (e.g., element 102 is firstintroduced and discussed with respect to FIG. 1).

Note: The headings provided herein are for convenience and do notnecessarily affect the scope or interpretation of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the invention described below enables one toparticipate in e-commerce without using a personal computer or one ofthe other devices discussed above, and instead enables participationthrough use of an e-commerce kiosk. In particular, the embodimentdescribed may be used by a customer to purchase minutes on prepaidlong-distance telephone calling cards. As an example, in return forcash, credit, or other currency provided by a customer, the kiosk maydispense a voucher that includes a telephone number and uniqueidentification number. Using this unique identification number andvoucher, the customer can telephone the indicated telephone number toactivate access to a long-distance calling network.

Other uses for an e-commerce kiosk in this and other embodiments includeselling prepaid credit cards and debit cards, adding minutes to prepaidlong-distance telephone calling cards, and adding or purchasing minutesfor use with prepaid cellular telephone services. As a further example,a customer may deposit cash toward a prepaid debit card the customeralready possesses. The debit card may or may not be associated with abank account.

Such an e-commerce kiosk may also be used by a customer, for example, topay bills. As an example, a customer may provide cash or other currencyto be applied towards payment of a telephone bill.

While some embodiments of e-commerce kiosks may be able to acceptpayments with cash as well as credit cards or debit cards, otherembodiments may be able to accept only cash. Further, some e-commercekiosks that accept cash may be incapable of returning money or change tothe customer. As an example, if a transaction requires a payment of $8,and the customer provides a $10 bill, the e-commerce kiosk may beincapable of returning $2 in physical monetary currency (hereinafter,“currency”) as change. Reasons why an e-commerce kiosk may be incapableof returning change include lacking hardware to do so or having aninsufficient amount of required denominations of currency. In thesesituations, the e-commerce kiosk may instead return change to thecustomer in the form of a voucher.

An e-commerce kiosk may be a “network client” as known in the relevantart and may execute software independent of or in conjunction with ane-commerce kiosk server. The e-commerce kiosk client software may becapable of being executed on devices such as personal computers,handheld devices, Internet terminals, cellular telephones, andpoint-of-sale terminals. These devices, including the e-commerce kiosk,may be coupled to a variety of input and output devices. Examples ofsuch devices include display screens, printers, cameras, keypads, mediadispensers, card readers, monetary currency input regions, touchscreens, and digital pens.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network topology 100 configured in accordance withan embodiment. In one aspect of this embodiment, several e-commercekiosks 102 may be coupled via communications links 104 to acommunications network 106. Several other e-commerce kiosks 108 may beconnected via communications links 110 to the communications network106. While two forms of e-commerce kiosks are shown in this Figure,several embodiments are anticipated. Examples of embodiments ofe-commerce kiosks include various forms of vending machines, automatedteller machines, advanced pay telephones, and other retail automatedmachines. Also coupled to the communications network 106 via acommunications link 112 may be an e-commerce kiosk server 114.Transactions selected by customers at the e-commerce kiosks 102 or 108may be routed to the e-commerce kiosk server 114.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the e-commerce kiosk server 114may be coupled to a database 115. The database 115 may be stored on thesame or another e-commerce kiosk server 114, or may reside in a separateserver (not shown). One familiar with the relevant art will understandhow software executing on an e-commerce kiosk server 114 will be able toretrieve data stored in the database 115, whether that database 115 isstored in the same or separate servers. The database 115 may storeinformation including unique identifiers that have been provided tocustomers relating to vouchers, a personal identification numberassociated with each unique identifier, a telephone number for thecustomer to call for activation of the purchased products, a creditamount, an indication of whether the voucher identified has already beenused, and other pertinent information relating to providing e-commerceservices on an e-commerce kiosk 102 or 108.

In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the e-commerce kiosk server114 may be coupled via a communications link 120 to a biometrics server116 and a content server 118. The biometrics server 116 conducts variousfraud detection and prevention activities, including prevention offraudulent check cashing. The content server 118 may perform variousactivities, including storing user interface content and advertising foruse on the e-commerce kiosks 102 and 108. One familiar with the relevantart will understand how content stored on the content server 118 istransferred via various communications links and protocols to e-commercekiosks 102 and 108 for rendering the content. The content stored on acontent server 118 may include images, Extensible Markup Language(“XML”) documents, hypertext markup language (“HTML”) documents, andinstructions to enable an e-commerce kiosk 102 or 108 to render thedocuments correctly. As an example, advertising and other contentspecifically targeted to consumer demographics on a kiosk or time-of-daybasis may be rendered on e-commerce kiosks 102 and 108 after retrievalfrom the content server 118. An e-commerce kiosk 102 located in adepartment store may display different advertisements than an e-commercekiosk 108 located at a convenience store. Additionally, an e-commercekiosk 102 located in a department store may show differentadvertisements during weekdays than during evenings and weekends totarget different demographics. Further, an e-commerce kiosk 102 locatedin a sporting goods department may show different advertisements than ane-commerce kiosk 102 located in an electronics department. E-commercekiosks may be located in many locations including shopping centers,street sidewalks, gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants inaddition to department and convenience stores.

The e-commerce kiosk server 114 may also be coupled via a communicationslink 122 to an e-commerce kiosk communications network 124. Multipleservice provider systems 128 may also be coupled to the e-commerce kioskcommunications network 124 via communications links 126. Examples ofservice provider systems 128 include systems operated by telephone longdistance companies, cellular telephone companies, bankcard companies,and aggregators of services from service providers. These variousservice provider systems 128 may operate independently on differentcomputer systems and may use different communications protocols. Thee-commerce kiosk server 114 may be able to exchange information withmultiple service provider systems 128 independently or jointly and inparallel or sequentially despite using the same or differentcommunications protocols or system software.

A possible use scenario of the embodiment described in FIG. 1 is asfollows. A customer elects to purchase minutes toward his or herlong-distance telephone calling card at an e-commerce kiosk 102. Thecustomer is prompted by the e-commerce kiosk to select a serviceprovider and to deposit $10. The customer deposits a $10 bill in thee-commerce kiosk in response to the prompt after selecting a serviceprovider. The e-commerce kiosk 102 uses the communications network 106to communicate with the e-commerce kiosk server 114 to notify theprovider of long-distance services selected by the customer that thecustomer has deposited money towards minutes on his or her prepaidcalling card. The e-commerce kiosk server 114 uses the e-commerce kioskcommunications network 124 to communicate with the service providersystem 128 of the long-distance provider selected by the customer. Theservice provider may return information including a unique identifierand, in one embodiment, a telephone number, for use by the customer tothe e-commerce kiosk server 114 via the e-commerce kiosk communicationsnetwork 124. The e-commerce kiosk server 114, in turn, provides some ofthat information including the unique identifier and telephone number tothe customer via the e-commerce kiosk 102. The customer is then able touse that unique identifier and telephone number to activate thepurchased minutes on his or her long distance calling card.

In another use scenario, the customer does not need to activate thepurchased minutes. Instead, the activation occurs automatically when theminutes are purchased by the customer. This automatic activation may ormay not require input from the customer. In yet another embodiment, noactivation may be required at all.

In the embodiment described in FIG. 1, a mechanism is available toupdate audiovisual or other user interface content or other aspects ofthe e-commerce kiosks 102 and 108. As an example, when content needs tobe updated, the content only needs to be updated at the content server118. The e-commerce kiosks 102 and 108 retrieve the updated content viathe communications network 106 from the content server 118. As describedabove, the content used by an e-commerce kiosk 102 may be the same ordifferent than content used by other e-commerce kiosks 108 or evenanother e-commerce kiosk 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partially schematic front isometric view of ane-commerce kiosk 200 configured in accordance with an embodiment. In oneaspect of this embodiment, the e-commerce kiosk 200 may include acurrency input region or tray 206, bill and voucher acceptor 207,voucher outlet 208, card reader 209, currency sorting/counting apparatus212 (shown schematically), and communications facility 213 (also shownschematically). The couplings from and to a remote computer may be asingle coupling to a communications network. The e-commerce kiosk 200may further include various user interface devices, such as a keypad214, user selection buttons 215, speaker 216, soft keys 217, and displayscreen 218 which may be touch-enabled. The keypad 214, user selectionbuttons 215, soft-keys 217, and touch-enabled display screen 218 may beused to enable quick and easy access to various features and functionsof the e-commerce kiosk 200. The display screen 218 may displayinformation in color, monochrome, or “gray-scale,” and may be used todisplay elements of a user interface, advertisements, or otherinformation. The e-commerce kiosk 200 may accept various forms ofpayment, including cash, credit cards, debit cards, chip cards, andmagnetic striped cards.

In one embodiment of the e-commerce kiosk 200, a telephone handset maybe included (not shown) to enable a customer to communicate withadvertisers, providers of products sold in the e-commerce kiosk, and toaccess assistance in using the e-commerce kiosk 200. The e-commercekiosk may also include a digital camera for use during check cashing andother financial services.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a Voucher routine 300 inaccordance with an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as the kiosk200 illustrated in FIG. 2. The routine 300 starts at block 302. At block304, a customer selects one or more products. Examples of products mayinclude payment of bills, addition of money to prepaid bank cards orcredit cards, and purchase of prepaid wireless telephone services,prepaid Internet access, prepaid residential telephone services, andlong-distance telephone calling cards. Other products an e-commercekiosk can offer may include financial services such as check cashing,purchase of money orders, and wire transfers of funds.

At block 306, the routine 300 determines a total amount of money duefrom the customer. After presentation of the total amount due, theroutine waits until payment is received from the customer. Acceptableforms of payment may include bills, coins, credit or debit cards, orvouchers dispensed by the e-commerce kiosk incidental to a priortransaction. However, this routine 300 is particularly useful when thee-commerce kiosk receives bills or coins and is unable to make change.At block 308, the routine 300 receives payment from the customer. Block308 is further described below as subroutine 600 in reference to FIG. 6.At block 310, the routine 300 determines if the amount of paymentprovided by the customer exceeds the amount of money due from thecustomer.

If, at block 310, the amount received from the customer exceeds theamount due from the customer, the routine 300 then dispenses a voucherto the customer at block 316 for the amount of the payment exceeding theamount due. The routine 300 then continues at block 318 to conclude thesale of the products.

If, at block 310, the amount received from the customer does not exceedthe amount due from the customer, then, at block 312, the routine 300determines whether the amount of money received from the customer isequal to the amount of money due from the customer. If that is the case,the routine 300 concludes the sale of the products at block 318 and endsat block 320. If the amount received from the customer is less than theamount due from the customer, the routine 300 continues at block 314 byrequesting an additional payment from the customer, and jumps to block308 to receive the additional payment. Concluding the sale of theproducts may include dispensing a voucher other than the voucherdescribed above for returning change to the customer. The routine 300then ends at block 320.

In an alternate embodiment, the voucher routine 300 may execute block318 before block 316 when the branch condition at block 310 is true.

In a further aspect of this embodiment, a voucher is credit that can beused at an e-commerce kiosk toward a future transaction. A code may beprinted on the voucher enabling the customer to uniquely identify thevoucher during such a transaction. Vouchers may also be redeemed viamail. In addition, some forms of e-commerce kiosks may be capable ofreturning cash in exchange for a voucher. In various other embodiments,vouchers may be issued by an e-commerce kiosk in lieu of cash when atransaction is canceled by the customer after payment, when the customerhas paid more than the transaction amount, or when the e-commerce kioskexperiences various forms of errors. A voucher may also be issued by ane-commerce kiosk that is unable to provide change upon excess payment bythe customer as a result of not having appropriate denominations ofcurrency.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a Round-Up routine 400 inaccordance with an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as the kiosk200 illustrated in FIG. 2. The routine 400 starts at block 402. At block404, a customer selects one or more products with an associated price.The products of block 404 may include one or more of the same productsdescribed above with reference to block 304 of FIG. 3.

At block 406, the routine 400 retrieves tax and convenience feeinformation based on the type and price of the selected products. In oneembodiment, the routine 400 retrieves this information from a backoffice server. In another embodiment, the routine 400 retrieves thisinformation from the same computer system that the routine 400 isexecuting on. In yet another embodiment, the routine 400 retrieves thisinformation from a third party. At block 408, the routine 400 calculatesa sum that is equal to the price of the products selected at block 404,plus a tax amount on this total, and plus a convenience fee.

At block 410, the routine 400 determines an amount needed to round upthe sum calculated at block 408 to a whole bill amount. A whole billamount is an amount that can be paid using one or more denominations ofa form of physical monetary currency. Examples of whole bill amounts inthe United States may include $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.Examples of total amounts that are not whole bill amounts may include$2.50, $35.27, and $0.65. At block 412, the routine 400 adds the amountdetermined at block 410 to the convenience fee retrieved at block 406 todetermine an augmented convenience fee. At block 414, the routine 400determines a tax on the augmented convenience fee determined at block412. At block 416, the routine 400 subtracts the tax determined at block414 from the augmented convenience fee determined at block 412, and addsthat tax amount to the total tax determined at block 406. At block 418,the routine 400 displays the total amount due from the customer.

The customer then has an opportunity at block 420 to accept or rejectthe order. If the customer accepts the order, the routine 400 continuesat block 422, where it receives payment from the customer. At block 424,the routine 400 dispenses a receipt showing the products purchased, theapplicable convenience fees, the taxes, and the total amount paid. Atblock 426, the routine 400 concludes the sale of the selected products.Concluding the sale of the products may include dispensing a voucherother than the voucher described above for returning change to thecustomer. The routine 400 then ends at block 430. If the customerrejects the order at block 420, the routine 400 ends at block 430.

In one embodiment, only a single bill of physical currency may bedeposited by the customer. In yet another embodiment, multiple bills anddenominations may be deposited. In another embodiment, the e-commercekiosk may provide the customer with a list of other products that may beadded to the current selection of products to minimize the conveniencefee used to round up the amount due to a whole bill amount.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a Voucher-After-Cancel routine 500in accordance with an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as thekiosk 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. The routine 500 starts at block 502. Atblock 504, a customer selects one or more products. The products ofblock 504 may include one or more of the same products described abovewith reference to block 304 of FIG. 3. At block 506, the routine 500determines a total amount of money due from the customer for theselected products. Acceptable forms of payment are described above forblock 306. After presentation of the amount due, the routine 500 waitsuntil payment is received from the customer. Once payment is received,the routine 500 continues at block 508.

At block 510, the customer cancels the pending transaction aftertendering payment. The routine 500 then prompts the customer at block512 to print a voucher for the amount tendered or select alternateproducts. If at block 514 the customer elects to select alternateproducts, the routine 500 continues at block 504. If the customer electsto print a voucher at block 514, then the routine 500 dispenses avoucher to the customer at block 516 for the amount tendered at block508. The routine 500 then ends at block 520. If the customer makes noselection in response to the prompt of block 512, any amount tendered bythe customer is available for the next customer of the e-commerce kiosk200. The voucher dispensed at block 508 may be used by the customer in amanner similar to that described above for the voucher dispensed atblock 316.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a Receive-Payment subroutine 600in accordance with an embodiment of an e-commerce kiosk, such as thekiosk 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. The subroutine 600 starts at block 602.At block 604, a customer selects a payment type. Payment types includecash, credit card, debit card, and vouchers. At block 606, thesubroutine determines whether the customer elected to include one ormore vouchers as payment. If the customer indicated that a voucher wouldbe used for payment, the subroutine continues at block 608 where thesubroutine receives information related to the voucher used for payment.

In one embodiment, at block 608, the customer is prompted for a uniqueidentifier previously provided with the voucher. In one aspect of thisembodiment, the subroutine prompts the customer for a personalidentification number (“PIN”) associated with the unique identifierprovided at block 608. In another aspect of this embodiment, the PIN maybe various other indicia that reliably authenticate the voucher.

In another embodiment, the subroutine may receive information relatingto the voucher from a barcode previously printed on the voucher.

At block 612, the subroutine validates the received information relatingto the voucher. In one embodiment, the information received istransmitted to an e-commerce kiosk server 114 illustrated in FIG. 1 forvalidation. The e-commerce kiosk server 114 determines whether thereceived information is valid by retrieving information related to thevoucher from the database 115 illustrated in FIG. 1. As an example, thesubroutine may receive an indication from the e-commerce kiosk server114 on whether the voucher for which information was received hasalready been used. Reasons for making this determination includedetecting fraud and preventing erroneous transactions. The subroutinethen continues at block 604 and the customer can then make additionalpayments toward purchase.

If, at block 606, the customer elects not to use a voucher, then thesubroutine determines whether vouchers were used for payment at block614, in which case the balance would exceed zero. If the balance exceedszero, the subroutine finishes at block 618. Alternatively, if thebalance does not exceed zero at block 614, the subroutine requests thecustomer to make payments using cash, credit card, debit card, or othernon-voucher forms of payment acceptable by an e-commerce kiosk.

In another embodiment, if the customer elects not to use a voucher atblock 606, the subroutine ends at block 618. In yet another embodiment,the customer is not prompted to select a payment type at block 604.Instead, the subroutine skips block 604 and prompts the customer to usevouchers at block 606. In such an embodiment, the subroutine alsocontinues at block 606 from block 612.

Several examples of products that an e-commerce kiosk may offer for saleare discussed above. These products may be made available to thecustomer by dispensing a voucher. Printed on the voucher may beinformation relating to how the customer may access the productspurchased. As an example, the voucher may include a toll-free telephonenumber and unique identifier.

In one embodiment of the e-commerce kiosk, all user interface-relatedcontent and instructions are served from a server. In so doing, onefamiliar with the relevant art will understand that features andfunctions may thus be dynamically updated to meet customer needs andincorporate new technological breakthroughs. One familiar with therelevant art will also understand that “dynamically updating” contentinvolves updating content on a server that will be retrieved by a clientautomatically.

As described above, an e-commerce kiosk may be a stand-alone unit or maybe embodied in various other devices such as an automated tellermachine. In such a way, a retailer may either choose to install astand-alone unit or integrate an e-commerce kiosk with some other formof retail machine already in use. As an example, an e-commerce kiosk maybe integrated with a vending machine. Another example of an e-commercekiosk is a countertop module. In such a configuration, a customerselects products to purchase and, optionally, pays using a credit card.If the customer desires to pay by cash, the customer may then pay aretail clerk or cashier.

As described above, an e-commerce kiosk 200 may be a client to ane-commerce kiosk server 114. One familiar with the relevant art willunderstand how network communications between clients and servers areperformed, including the use of various security measures to promote asecure and robust communications environment. One familiar with therelevant art will also understand that the communications networks 106and 124 may be public networks, private networks, or a combination ofboth. The communications networks 106 and 124 may or may not share thesame communications lines.

One familiar with the relevant art will also understand that thetechnology described above is not specific to any given hardwareconfiguration, communications protocol, or other systems applications.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive as opposed to exclusive orexhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but notlimited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include theplural or singular number, respectively. The words “herein,” “above,”“below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application,shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particularportion of this application.

The above detailed descriptions of embodiments of this invention are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whilesteps or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodimentsmay perform routines having steps or blocks in a different order. Thevarious embodiments described herein can be combined to provide furtherembodiments. These and other changes can be made to the invention inlight of the detailed description.

In general, the terms used in the following claims should not beconstrued to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosedin the specification, unless the above detailed description explicitlydefines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the inventionencompasses the disclosed embodiments and all equivalent ways ofpracticing or implementing the invention under the claims. While certainaspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, theinventors contemplate the various aspects of the invention in any numberof claim forms. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to addadditional claims after filing the application to pursue such additionalclaim forms for other aspects of the invention.

1. A method for use by an electronic commerce kiosk for selling prepaidtelephone service, the method comprising: providing an electroniccommerce kiosk in a publicly accessible location; displaying at leastfirst and second purchase options to a user at the kiosk, wherein thefirst purchase option relates to a type of telephone service and thesecond purchase option relates to a type of credit card usage; receivinga purchase selection from the user at the kiosk corresponding to firstpurchase options; determining an amount due from the user in response toreceiving the purchase selection; receiving funds from the user to payfor the purchase selection, the funds including a plurality of randomlyoriented coins received substantially simultaneously in a coin inputregion of the kiosk to at least partially pay for the purchaseselection; subtracting the amount due from the funds received todetermine a difference between the funds received and the amount due;and when the difference is greater than zero, automatically dispensing avoucher to the user at the kiosk in the absence of dispensing monetarycurrency to the user, wherein the voucher is at least redeemable at thekiosk for the second purchase option.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindispensing a voucher to the user includes automatically dispensing avoucher to the user in the absence of receiving a user input at thekiosk requesting the voucher.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving additional funds including paper currency from theuser.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving additionalfunds by reading a magnetic card provided by the user at the kiosk. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a first voucher fromthe user at the kiosk to at least partially pay for the selectedtransaction, and wherein dispensing a voucher to the user at the kioskincludes dispensing a second voucher to the user.
 6. A method forconducting electronic commerce, the method comprising: providing anelectronic commerce kiosk in a publicly accessible location; displayingat least first and second transaction options to a user at the kiosk,wherein the first transaction option relates to prepaid telephoneservice and the second transaction option relates to a prepaid creditcard; receiving a transaction selection from the user at the kioskcorresponding to the first transaction option; determining an amount duefrom the user in response to receiving the transaction selection;receiving funds from the user to pav for the transaction selection, thefunds including a plurality of randomly oriented coins; subtracting theamount due from the funds received to determine a difference; and whenthe difference is greater than zero, dispensing a voucher to the user atthe kiosk in the absence of dispensing monetary currency to the user,wherein the voucher is redeemable for a value at least generallycorresponding to the difference between the funds received and theamount due, and wherein the voucher is redeemable at the kiosk aspayment for the second transaction option.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein dispensing a voucher to the user includes automaticallydispensing a voucher to the user in the absence of receiving a userinput at the kiosk requesting the voucher.
 8. The method of claim 6,further comprising receiving additional funds comprising paper currencyfrom the user.
 9. The method of claim 6, further comprising receivingadditional funds by reading a magnetic card provided by the user at thekiosk.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving a firstvoucher from the user at the kiosk to at least partially pay for theselected transaction, and wherein dispensing a voucher to the user atthe kiosk includes dispensing a second voucher to the user.
 11. Themethod of claim 6 wherein the kiosk is a first kiosk, and whereindispensing a voucher to the user includes dispensing a voucher that isredeemable at a second kiosk by the user for another transaction. 12.The method of claim 6 wherein the transaction selection is a firsttransaction selection, wherein the amount due from the user is a firstamount due, wherein the funds received from the user are first funds,wherein the voucher is a first voucher, and wherein the method furthercomprises: receiving a second transaction selection from the user at thekiosk; determining a second amount due from the user in response toreceiving the second transaction selection; receiving second funds fromthe user at the kiosk to at least partially pay for the second selectedtransaction, the second funds including the first voucher; subtractingthe second amount due from the second funds received to determine adifference; and when the difference is greater than zero, dispensingmonetary currency to the user at the kiosk.
 13. The method of claim 6wherein: receiving a transaction selection from the user includesreceiving an indication that the user wishes to purchase telephone usagetime for an amount due equivalent to a first monetary amount; receivingfunds from the user includes receiving funds equivalent to a secondmonetary amount, the second monetary amount being greater than the firstmonetary amount; and dispensing a voucher to the user includesdispensing a voucher redeemable for a value at least generallyequivalent to the difference between the first and second monetaryamounts.
 14. The method of claim 6 wherein: receiving a transactionselection from the user includes receiving a first transaction selectionindicating that the user wishes to purchase telephone usage time for anamount due equivalent to a first monetary amount; receiving funds fromthe user includes receiving funds equivalent to a second monetaryamount, the second monetary amount being greater than the first monetaryamount; dispensing a voucher to the user includes dispensing a firstvoucher redeemable for a value at least generally equivalent to adifference between the first and second monetary amounts, the differencebetween the first and secondary monetary amounts calculated bysubtracting the first monetary amount from the second monetary amount;and wherein the method further comprises: receiving a second transactionselection from the user at the kiosk indicating that the user wishes topurchase additional telephone usage time; and receiving the firstvoucher from the user at the kiosk to at least partially pay for thesecond selected transaction.
 15. A system for conducting electroniccommerce in a publicly accessible location, the system comprising: meansfor displaying one or more transaction options to a user at a kiosk;means for receiving a transaction selection from the user at the kioskcorresponding to a purchase of prepaid telephone service; means fordetermining an amount due from the user in response to receiving thetransaction selection; means for receiving funds to pay for thetransaction selection, the funds including a plurality of randomlyoriented coins; means for subtracting the amount due from the funds todetermine a difference; and when the difference is greater than zero,means for dispensing a voucher to the user at the kiosk in the absenceof dispensing monetary currency to the user, wherein the voucher isredeemable for a value at least generally corresponding to thedifference between the funds received and the amount due, and wherein atleast a portion of the voucher value can be applied to a prepaid creditcard or a prepaid debit card at the kiosk.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the means for dispensing a voucher to the user includes meansfor automatically dispensing a voucher to the user in the absence ofreceiving a user input at the kiosk requesting the voucher.
 17. Thesystem of claim 15 wherein the means for receiving funds includes meansfor receiving additional funds including paper currency from the user.18. The system of claim 15 wherein the means for receiving funds furtherincludes means for receiving a first voucher from the user at the kioskto at least partially pay for the selected transaction, and wherein themeans for dispensing a voucher to the user at the kiosk includes meansfor dispensing a second voucher to the user.
 19. The system of claim 15wherein the means for dispensing a voucher to the user includes meansfor dispensing a voucher that is redeemable at the kiosk by the user foranother transaction.
 20. The method of claim 15 wherein the transactionselection is a first transaction selection, wherein the amount due fromthe user is a first amount due, wherein the received funds are firstfunds, wherein the voucher is a first voucher, and wherein the systemfurther comprises: means for receiving a second transaction selectionfrom the user at the kiosk; means for determining a second amount duefrom the user in response to receiving the second transaction selection;means for receiving second funds from the user at the kiosk to at leastpartially pay for the second selected transaction, the second fundsincluding the first voucher; means for subtracting the second fundsreceived from the second amount due to determine a difference; and whenthe difference is greater than zero, means for dispensing monetarycurrency to the user at the kiosk.